Editing SCK CEN (section)

== History ==
SCK CEN was founded in 1952 and originally named '''Studiecentrum voor de Toepassingen van de Kernenergie''' ('''Research Centre for the Applications of Nuclear Energy'''), abbreviated to '''STK'''. Land was bought in the municipality of [[Mol, Belgium|Mol]], and over the next years many technical, administrative, medical, and residential buildings were constructed on the site. From 1956 to 1964 four nuclear research reactors became operational: the BR 1, BR 2, BR 3, the first [[pressurized water reactor]] in Europe, and VENUS.

In 1963 SCK CEN already employed 1600 people, a number that would remain about the same over the next decades. In 1970 SCK CEN widened its field of activities outside the nuclear sector, but the emphasis remained on nuclear research. In 1991 SCK CEN was split and a new institute, VITO (Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek; Flemish institute for technological research), took over the non-nuclear activities. SCK CEN currently has about 850 employees.

In the 1980s, SCK CEN employees were bribed to receive and store high-level nuclear waste from the West German firm [[Transnuklear]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.scienceforpeace.org/post/a-nuclear-watergate-west-germany-s-transnuklear-affair|title=A Nuclear Watergate: West Germany's "Transnuklear Affair"|publisher=Science for Peace|date=1 June 1988}}</ref>

In 2017, the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] designated SCK CEN as one of the four ''International Centres based on Research Reactor (ICERR)''.